'Speed Racer' bursts onto MTV nets (Mania.com)

Warner Bros.' "Speed Racer" will hijack and speed up TV promos and Web sites from MTV Networks in a multilayered, cross-platform marketing campaign tied to the tentpole movie's May 9 release.

From April 10-18, what will look like regular series promos airing during commercial breaks will suddenly speed up into one about a text-message "Speed Racer" contest in which players can compete to win a $100,000 custom-built version of the Mach 5, the car driven by the film's title character.

On May 9, five MTVN sites also will be "sped up" by accelerating their video content as well as spinning and shaking their graphics while a fast-paced clip for the movie is streaming.

The spots will direct viewers to go to RaceForSpeedRacer.com to enter their cell phone number or to text in a code to enter the contest. MTVN execs also plan to promote the text message race virally by seeding the 15-second promos and other content around the Internet.